Calvin Track and Field Teams Receive USTCA All-Academic Honors

GRAND RAPIDS, MI - The Calvin men's and women's track and field teams have
earned all-academic honors from the  United States Track Coaches Association
(USTCA).  In addition, six members of the men's team and six members of the
women's team have earned individual all-academic accolades from the USTCA.

Teams were eligible for the honor if they had a minimum of 14 members who
participated in the 2001 outdoor season and recorded a minimum 3.100 (4.000
scale) cumulative grade point average as a group.  To qualify individually, a
student-athlete needed to hae recorded a minimum cumulative grade-point average
of 3.25 and have participated in their NCAA division outdoor track and field
championships.

The Calvin men's track and field team was one of  18 NCAA III teams to earn
USTCA all-academic honors, compiling a team GPA of 3.178, ranking 13th among the
18 qualifying schools.  The Calvin women's track and field team was one of 38
NCAA III teams across the nation to be so honored as it compiled a team GPA of
3.320, ranking it 18th among the 38 qualifying schools.

Among the 302 individual recipients (combined from NCAA I, II and III
institutions) are 11 student-athletes who captured NCAA titles in their
respective outdoor championships including two from Calvin College.  Those two
individuals are Lindsay Mulder and Sara Veltkamp.   Mulder is from Wyoming and
is a graduate of Calvin Christian High School.  She captured the national
championship in the long jump last spring with an NCAA III record jump of 20-1. 
Mulder then ran a leg on Calvin's national championship 4 x 400 meter relay team
that clocked in with a school record time of 3:43.24, marking the third
consecutive national title for the Calvin women's 4 x 400 meter relay team. 
Mulder also earned All-America accolades in the 400 meter run, finishing seventh
with a time of 56.68. Veltkamp is from Grand Rapids and is a graduate of Grand
Rapids Christian High School.  Veltkamp also ran a leg on Calvin's national
championship 4 x 400 meter relay team and earned All-America honors in the 400
meters, placing sixth with a time of 56.64.

Also receiving individual all-academic citations from the Calvin women's track
and field team were senior Andrea Rip, junior Rachel Veltkamp and freshmen Dana
Haan and Jessie Lair.

Rip is from Bothell, Washington and is a graduate of Bellevue Christian High
School.  Rip competed in the javelin at last year's NCAA III Championships and
earned All-America honors by finishing seventh.  Veltkamp is from Grand Rapids
and is a graduate of Grand Rapids Christian High School.  She competed in the
pole vault and 4 x 100 meter relay.  Veltkamp earned All-America accolades in
both events, placing third in the pole vault and fifth on the 4 x 100 meter
relay team.  Haan is from Lynden, Washington and is a graduate of Lynden
Christian High School.  She also ran on Calvin's All-America 4 x 100 meter relay
team that took fifth.  Lair is from West Bloomfield and is a graduate of
Southfield Christian High School.  She competed in the 10,000 meter run and
finished in 14th place.


Receiving individual all-academic accolades on the Calvin men's track and field
team were seniors Phil Sikkenga, Mark DeWeerd, Paul Petersen, Eric Hansen and
juniors Dan Hoekstra and David Ritsema.  

Sikkenga is from Wheaton, Illinois and is a graduate of Timothy Christian High
School.  He competed in the 200 meters, 400 meters and 4 x 400 meter relay at
the national meet and earned All-America accolades in the 400 meters and 4 x 400
meter relay, placing third in the 400 meters and helping the relay team finish
second.  Petersen is from Crawfordsville, Indiana and is a graduate of Southmont
High School.  Petersen competed in the 10,000 and 5,000 meter runs at the
national meet, placing 10th in the 10,000 and 13th in the 5,000 meters.  Hansen
is from Big Rapids and is a graduate of Big Rapids High School.  Hansen ran a
leg on Calvin's national runner-up 4 x 400 meter relay team at the national
meet.

Hoekstra is from Kalamazoo and is a graduate of Kalamazoo Christian High School.
 He competed in the 10,000 and 5,000 meter runs at the national meet, earning
All-America honors in both events as he finished eighth in the 10,000 and eighth
in the 5,000.  Ritsema is from Denver, Colorado and is a graduate of Denver
Christian High School.  Ritsema competed in the 3,000 meter steeplechase at the
national meet, finishing in 14th place.

Under the direction of head coach Ralph Honderd, the Calvin women's track and
field team posted its highest-ever national finish at last year's NCAA III
Championships, finishing in second place with 49 points.  Led by head coach
Jong-Il Kim, the Calvin men's track and field team finished in fifth place at
the NCAA III Championships with 31.5 points